In order to identify and reduce navigational risks and to make the navigational environment safer and more efficient,the PAWSA (ports and waterways safety assessment workshop guide) model is applied in the risk management of waterways in the port.With the risk analysis on Xiamen port and waterways as example,the method of questionnaire is adopted to identify the risk issues related to Xiamen Port and its waterways.It is suggested that an audit mechanism should be set up on small vessels by Xiamen Port,and maritime departments should enhance their co-operations in order to mitigate risks brought by the traffic of small vessels.The joint port emergency response mechanism should be improved with relevant safety regulations in place.Furthermore,after the initial application of the model on the analysis on Xiamen Port,this paper discusses the practicality of the model and comes up with suggests on improvements to some factors of it,ie,to more clearly define types of vessels and to differentiate different types of vessels in different ports,as well as to add human factors into the assessment of the model.